"Trimble took command of Pender's troops after he was wounded on the second day. Trimble himself was wouded and captured by the Federals during Pickett's (Pettigrew's) Charge."

I take nothing away from Dick Trimble, But by your own statement he did not have command of any troops until the second days after Pender was wounded.

The one thing that I have found through reenacting along with my study is that you can not move a large body of troop even a regiment at a moments notice. They didn't have Starfleet Transporters in those days. Also few units engaged in combat maintain their formation and thereby their combat effectiveness for long.

For example the normal combat load of ammunition for the average soldier in the AWC was 40 rounds. That was about 15 minutes worth of full fledge fighting before you have to withdraw or resupply that soldier. Yeah, I know there are always the exceptions but from a military planning point of view these "Problems" HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED.

It's not as simplistic as "Give me a regiment and I'll take that Hill". Nobody knew what was on top of that hill in 1863. Sure we know today that nobody was up there. But if Trimble was so sure that it was such a knockover to take Culp's Hill why didn't he go up there himself and scout it out?

The fact is that Trimble did believe that there was, or would be shortly, Union troops on top of Culp's Hill and that if he did not have to fight to take the hill he certainly would have to fight to defend it. Ewell knew the Confederates ability to hold that ground without artillery support would have been quesionable. And getting artillery up that hill from the Confederate side would have been a nightmare of a job.

Was Culp's Hill that Important? I don't believe so. While it was a factor it did not control the battlefield past Cemetery Ridge. Had the Federals lost Culp's Hill, They would have simply reformed around the Roundtops which did control the Battlefield.